USA > New Jersey > Biographical, genealogical and descriptive history of the first congressional district of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 33
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He was born in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, December 11, 1831, and died January 23, 1899, in Camden. His father, Joel Bodine, was a native of Burlington county, this state. Our subject attended the public schools and at an early age began working for his father, who was the proprietor of the glass-works of Williamstown, New Jersey. He thoroughly mastered the business both in principle and detail and from time to time assumed greater responsibility until at length he was made the president of the Bodine Glass Company, manufacturers of glass cans at Williamstown. He conducted this enterprise with marked ability. His considerate treatment of his employes brought to him in return their faithful service, and his honorable dealing with his patrons secured him a large trade. In 1879 he took up his abode in Camden, but continued in the presidency of the glass company and was also a director of the First National Bank at Glassboro.
On the 30th of July, 1854, Mr. Bodine was united in marriage to Miss Phoebe French, a representative of a prominent family of Burlington county. Six children were born of their union, as follows: E. C., a resident of Williamstown; Lewis F., who makes his home in Newark, New Jersey; Anabelle, the widow of S. B. Suttons, of Camden; Jennie B., the widow of A. T. W. Johnson, of Camden; Fanny, the wife of George P. Johnson, of
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Camden; and Vincent, married. The family is one of prominence in the community, its members holding high positions in social circles.
It is often the case when one is engaged with extensive business interests that little opportunity is found to devote to the holier duties of life; but Mr. Bodine always had time to perform his part in church work. He was a leading member of the Tabernacle Methodist Episcopal church, of Cam- den, and did all in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. Socially he was connected with the Knights of Pythias fraternity and was a worthy exponent of the benevolent principles of that order. He had the confidence and high regard of men in all places.
"His life was noble, and the elements so mixed in him That Nature might stand up and say to all the world, 'This was a man.'"
CHARLES R. BARKER.
Charles Rhodes Barker, prominently engaged in real estate and in- surance in Newbold, West Deptford township, Gloucester county, New Jer- sey, was born in Jefferson county, New York, November 12, 1848, a son of Rhodes Barker and Mary E. Huntington.
Both his paternal and maternal ancestry were English. His grand- father, Ebenezer Barker, was a native of Rhode Island, but later became a citizen of Oneida county, New York, where he was a prominent and pro- gressive farmer and blacksmith. He married Priscilla Rhodes, who also was a native of Rhode Island, and they had eleven children: Ebenezer, de- ceased, Daniel, James, Macomber, John, Rhodes, Peleg, George, Josiah, and two whose names are not recorded. Both grandparents died in New York state. His father, Rhodes Barker, born in Oneida county, New York, was educated in the public schools and afterward followed the vocation of a teacher for several years. He subsequently engaged in agricultural pursuits and continued therein during his after life. He removed to New Jersey about 1861 and died there in February, 1881.
To him and wife were born four children: Charles Rhodes; Mary E., the wife of Dr. E. W. Lawrence, of Bridgeport, New Jersey; George H., who married Marion Simonds and resides in Pasadena, California; and James Newton, who resides at Newark, New Jersey.
Charles R. Barker was educated in the public schools of New York state and Mantua Grove, New Jersey. He was reared to farm life and engaged in
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agricultural pursuits until 1894. In June of that year he engaged in his present business in Newbold, where he is now serving his second term as commissioner of deeds. He is a member of Prosperity Lodge of the Inde- pendent Order of Mechanics. In political views he is a Democrat. His family attend the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Barker was married in Woodbury, New Jersey, to Fannie H., a daughter of David B. Leslie and Abigail Stevenson. They have three chil- dren,-Gertrude F., George L. and Carroll C.
LEWIS EDWARDS.
In the careful conduct of his agricultural interests and in the com- petent management of other business affairs Lewis Edwards has acquired a capital which numbers him among the substantial citizens of South Dennis, Cape May county. The town in which he now makes his home is the place of his birth, his natal day being October 7, 1827. His parents were Amos and Abigail (Smith) Edwards. The paternal grandfather, Amos Edwards, was born on Long Island, but came to South Dennis about 1830, here spending the remainder of his life. He was a blacksmith by trade, and followed that pursuit throughout his entire career. His political support was given the Democracy, and his military experience consisted of service in the war of 1812, at which time he did coast patrol duty. Both he and his wife died when seventy-eight years of age. They had three children: Amos; Lemuel, a blacksmith, who married Rhoda Smith, and has six children: Smith, Edward, Julia, Emma Shumaker, James and Adele; and James, who went west when a boy.
Amos Edwards, father of our subject, was born at South Seaville, Cape May county, and for many years carried on blacksmithing in Seaville and Dennisville, his last days being spent in the latter place. He voted with the Democracy, and was a public-spirited citizen and a man of sterling worth. He married Abigail Smith, daughter of Jacob Smith, who was born in Den- nisville and became a farmer, engaging in the tilling of the soil throughout his active business life. For many years he capably served as justice of the peace and was also postmaster at Dennis Creek Landing. He, too, was a Democrat in his political affiliations. He died in Dennisville at the age of fifty-eight years, and his wife passed away at the age of sixty years. Mr. and Mrs. Edwards became the parents of five children: Lewis is the eldest; Calvin S., a member of the firm of Edwards & Lawrence, clothiers, married Hannah Lawrence, and to them was born a daughter, Zilpah, now the wife of Charles
Lewis Edwards
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Wetzel, of Brooklyn; Francis, a grocer and ship-chandler at Port Richard, New Jersey, married Elizabeth Hogue, and has four children: Andrew. Francis, Jacob and Emma; Elmer, was married and had three children .- Elmer, Sallie and Mary, the first named being in the wholesale commission business in Denver, Colorado; and Amos married Judith Mathews, and has four children, Calvin, Amos, Lydia and Ella. He is now extensively engaged in the cordage business in Baltimore, Maryland. The father of this family died of cholera, when only thirty-four years of age, but the mother, long surviving him, passed away at the age of seventy-five years.
In the district schools of Dennisville Mr. Edwards continued his educa- tion until eighteen years of age and then went to sea, shipping before the mast. Gradually, however, he worked his way upward until be became cap- tain of a coasting vessel, thus serving for twenty-five years. He followed the sea until 1872, and after his retirement from that life, he devoted his energies to farming and to the operation of a steam sawmill, manufacturing cedar lumber at Dennisville. He continued in that business until 1879, and was engaged in vessel building from 1880 until 1891, at Dennisville, during which time he constructed a number of large vessels, including the largest ever built at that place. He now devotes his energies to farming and gar- dening, for in addition to the cultivation of the cereals adapted to his climate he also raises vegetables for the city markets. He owns where he resides two hundred acres of valuable land and is the owner of woodland and cedar swamps in other sections of the country. Mr. Edwards has now passed the Psalmist's span of three score years and ten, but is still actively identified with business affairs and displays the ability and vigor of a man of much younger years.
In 1851 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Edwards and Miss Abigail Matthews, a daughter of Samuel Matthews, a surveyor and merchant of Dennisville, who also handled cord wood and owned a number of sloops. being a well-to-do citizen. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Edwards have been born five children, namely: Anna, who became the wife of Frank Leaming; Lewis, who married Lizzie Byer, and is connected with the life-saving station at Sea Isle City; Adolph, who has been agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Ocean City for ten years; Harry, who at the age of nineteen years was lost at sea August 18, 1880, while going from Philadelphia to Boston on a vessel that was loaded with coal and was lost in a gale off Fire Island; and Marcus, who died of appendicitis, at the age of twenty-seven years. He was educated in Pierce's Business College and was regarded as the brightest student in the institution at the time he was pursuing his studies there. He was particularly intelligent and became an expert account-
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ant, employing a number of men under him. His services were in great demand throughout his section of the country, and his loss was widely felt by his many friends.
In his political affiliations Mr. Edwards is a Republican and has long supported that party, believing that it embodies the best principles of good government. He has been a delegate to various conventions of his party and has served as a member of the board of freeholders. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and in his life has exemplified the teachings of the craft,- the justice in business, kindliness and helpfulness. His worth as a man and a citizen entitle him to representation in this volume and with pleasure we present his record among those of the leading residents of southern New Jersey.
ADON W. MULLER.
Adon Wills Muller, a prominent citizen and farmer in Deptford town- ship, Gloucester county, New Jersey, was born in Gloucester city, Camden county, this state, December 12, 1849, the son of Jacob Andrew Muller and Martha T. Wills. On his father's side he is of Swiss parentage. His mother is the daughter of Adon G. Wills, a family name long established in the state. His father emigrated from Switzerland after receiving a good education there, at the age of nineteen, and, arriving in America, settled in Gloucester, New Jersey. For a number of years he was the captain on a ferry-boat between Gloucester and Philadelphia. He later removed to Pennsylvania and for several years conducted a lumbering business in the Pocona moun- tains. Subsequently he removed to Deptford township, New Jersey, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and thirty-eight acres, upon which he made numerous improvements. He engaged in agriculture the balance of his life, dying in Deptford, March 3, 1895. His children were: Eliza W., born in 1840, who died in childhood; Jacob Andrew, deceased; Mary Sykes, the wife of Charles Smith; Robert Sykes, who resides near Sea Isle; Adon Wills; and Caroline C., who died in childhood.
Adon Wills Muller, after attending the district schools of Deptford, con- tinued his education at Blackwood Academy. Leaving school he remained on his father's farm, and adopting the vocation of a farmer has since con- tinued that pursuit. Upon the death of his father he purchased his present farm, and is ranked among the solid and substantial farmers of his section.
Politically Mr. Muller is a Republican and is the chairman of his township committee. He is also the fish and game warden for Gloucester county. His religious connections are with the Methodist Episcopal church.
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In April, 1879, Mr. Muller was married to Elizabeth, a daughter of Wil- liam and Christiana Blakeborough. Mrs. Muller died November 10, 1897, leaving as surviving children Marion Westacott, Anna LaCale, A. Wills, John and J. Frank.
JAMES M. TWEED.
James M. Tweed, of Williamstown, New Jersey, is one of those indus- trious, enterprising citizens whose steady application to the business in hand has placed him among the leading agriculturists of his section of the state. He was born at Hurffville, September 9, 1852, and is of Irish parentage. The father, Samuel Tweed, was born in Ireland, but came to America and settled in Fairview, in 1828. Later, in 1835, he moved to Millville and engaged in lumbering and charcoal burning. In 1854 he moved to Williams- town and worked in the glass factory until 1860, and then bought the farm where his son now resides. He accumulated considerable property and was a man of excellent character. He was a regular attendant of the Presbyterian church, of which he was a member and trustee; and his death, which oc- curred in 1885, was deeply felt in that organization. He was united in mar- riage with Rose, a daughter of James McMaster, of Ireland. She died in 1879, being survived by two of her four children: James M. and Elizabeth, the wife of William L. Haven, of Morristown, New Jersey.
James M. Tweed received his early education in the country schools and his spare moments were spent in doing such chores as usually fall to the lot of the farmer boy. He continued to work on the farm as he grew older and now has a tract of ninety-five acres, which he cultivates and devotes to general farming, truck gardening and grazing. He has a fine dairy and one of the best milk routes in that part of the county. He has built up a large patronage and the best quality of milk is always furnished, it being his espe- cial care to see that the cows are in a clean, healthy condition and the milk drawn and put up in the best possible shape for the market.
Mr. Tweed was married January 1, 1880, to Miss Priscilla, a daughter of William M. Godfrey, of Blackwood. Eight children have been born to them, of whom seven are living. They are: Stewart L., a student at Rut- gers Scientific College; George G., now learning mould-making at the Bodine Glass Works; Richards I., Samuel F., Emma G., Anna Rose and William G. Mr. Tweed is a Republican and has been a member of the town- ship committee for seven years and treasurer two years. He is also actively interested in the cause of education and has served on the school board, making an able and efficient member. He has been a trustee of the Pres-
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byterian church, is one of its elders at present and has served as the superin- tendent of the Sunday-school for the past sixteen years, doing much to build up the school and increase its membership.
DAVID P. ELMER.
David Potter Elmer, a merchant and dealer in real estate, was born in Bridgeton, New Jersey, September 21, 1816, the son of William and Nancy B. (Potter) Elmer. His education was received from the public schools and at the Bridgeton Academy up to fifteen years of age, when he left school and entered the general store of J. B. & R. B. Potter in Bridgeton as clerk. He soon became the manager of the store, and in 1837, buying out the in- terest of R. B. Potter, the firm name was changed to Potter & Elmer. He continued as merchant until 1846, when he retired from mercantile business and thereafter devoted himself to real estate, buying and selling various properties, becoming identified with corporate interests. In 1844 he was one of the founders of the Cumberland Insurance Company, organized that year, of which he subsequently became president.
Mr. Elmer was a Republican, was elected a freeholder, was a prominent Odd Fellow and a member of the Presbyterian congregation, of which he was for many years a trustee. In February, 1853, he was married to Mary Eliza Nixon, by whom he had three children: Martha, who married Captain H. K. Bailey, of the Fifth Infantry, Company K, United States Army, who participated in the occupation of Santiago: they have one daughter, Mar- garetta; Howard Nixon, who married Mary, the daughter of General Rob- ert Patterson, of Philadelphia: he is the western manager of the New Jersey Steel and Iron Company and resides at Chicago. The third child is James Potter, born in 1857, received an academic education and is the assistant passenger agent for the St. Paul and North-western Railroad, residing at St. Paul, Wisconsin.
JESSE C. DAVIS.
Jesse Coombs Davis, prominent in business and public affairs in Cum- berland county, New Jersey, was born in Porris Branch, that county, August 15, 1830, the son of Joel and Priscilla (Coombs) Davis. His father was a veteran of the war of 1812, a farmer by occupation and died at Bridget, New Jersey, where he had removed late in life, at the age of seventy-three years.
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Of the twelve children Jesse was the eleventh. Of these there are but four living.
Mr. Davis was educated in the private schools of Cumberland county, and subsequently learned the carpenter's trade, which he successfully fol- lowed for forty-five years, latterly being engaged upon important contracts. In 1886 he became deputy of Trenton state prison, continuing as such for five years. Since 1891 he has served as a justice of the peace, commissioner of deeds and given his attention in a business way largely to dealings in real estate. He is a stanch Republican and has also served as the commissioner of appeals.
During the civil war he served in Company G, Twenty-fourth New Jer- sey Volunteers, enlisting in August, 1862, and was wounded in the hip by a shell in the battle of Fredericksburg.
In. August, 1851, Mr. Davis was married to Miss Mary Elizabeth Fergu- son. They have had two children: Joel L., who died young; and Frank, who is a printer by trade.
DR. ELLSMER STITES, M. D.
Dr. Ellsmer Stites was born in Newport, Cumberland county, New Jer- sey, January 13, 1867, the son of Edward and Sarah (Bradford) Stites. His father, Edward Stites, was a thoroughly self-made man, a native of New- port, New Jersey, but never enjoyed the advantages of an early education. What he lacked, however, in early school facilities, he subsequently sup- plied by self-application and took a strong position in the community as a solid and substantial citizen.
Ellsmer Stites supplemented his early educational advantages by his medical studies, and receiving his diploma entered upon practice and soon acquired distinction not only in general practice but also in the practice of specialties, upon which he is a recognized authority.
He served as the president of the Bridgeton board of health for two years, has held high official positions in connection with the Cumberland County Medical Society and is a member of the State Medical Society. He has also contributed occasional important articles to various medical publi- cations. His specialty is gynecology. His general practice covers a wide circuit. He is a member of Brenly Lodge and Chapter, F. & A. M., and of Olivet Commandery, and is a prominent Odd Fellow, in this organization holding his membership in Bridgeport Lodge.
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LEWIS MITCHELL CRESSE.
In the building of a nation or the developing of a new country there are names which form the foundation and corner-stones that stand strong, unal- terable and secure. In the history of Cape May county that of Cresse is one upon which the structure largely depends, on account of its association with the early landed proprietors, the judiciary representatives and the religious organizations. The southern portion of New Jersey, of which Cape May county forms a large section, is surrounded by historic waters and is itself rich in traditional lore, which has been saved by faithful transmission from father to son, and in facts recorded by hands that were baptized in blood as they established hearthstones in a wilderness of savages and later helped to wage a warfare that gave liberty to a new world. Tradition claims the advent of the name of Cresse with the first white settlers of the state, and it is true that when the county came into existence by proprietary law in 1692 it appears upon the records as belonging to one of the first public officials.
The same year a company of whalers, attracted by the wealth of these waters, came from Long Island and settling here constituted a large portion of the then sparse population; and in this band the prominent organizers and most loyal adherents to a new country and government were the members of this family.
Arthur Cresse, the father of the line of whose descendants we write, pur- chased three hundred and fifty acres of land from the West Jersey Society, in 1692, and the same year he and John Townsend became jointly the first collectors of the county, which position they held until 1700, when they were succeeded by John Cresse and Jacob Spicer.
So great was the fertility of the soil which had never been cultivated that the raising of cattle was extensively followed. The herds roamed together and each man's property was distinguished by a brand on the ears. This law was made by an act of assembly at Burlington, February 17, 1692. The legal form of recording the "ear-marks" was a sketch of a cow's head with the peculiar mark of the owner on the ears, accompanied by a written description. The first "ear-mark" in the archives of the Cape May county courts was recorded by a Cresse on July 13, 1692, of which a fac-simile is given on the opposite page.
A deep religious sentiment has dominated the executive strength of the family and in church as well as state they have been leaders. When the first Baptist services in 1675 resulted in a permanent organization, with a church structure, in 1712, at Cape May, the name of Arthur Cresse was first upon the list of its members, as was that of Nathan Cresse, first on the list of mem-
Amberesse
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bers of the first Methodist church of the county, which was founded at Dennisville. The early records of the first Presbyterian church are lost, but tradition claims that the Cresse family was also largely interested in its organization. The name of Lewis Cresse continues in almost unbroken succession down the ancestral line, appearing officially as early as 1712.
When the fiery spirit of patriotism burst forth in a document of May 27, 1778, in which eighty-seven Cape May county citizens renounced their alle- giance to King George and swore to "bear true faith" to the government of New Jersey, the names of Arthur, Lewis, Daniel, David and Zebulon Cresse appeared on the list of its signers. Lewis was a notorious wag and verse- maker. Daniel, a brother of Lewis and the great-grandfather of our subject, was a large land-owner, the proprietor of Dias Creek tavern and a sea cap- tain. His son Daniel married Hannah Hand and settled at Gravelly Run, where he operated one of the largest farms in that region. Six children were born to them,-Philip, Rhoda, Ellen, Huldah, Daniel and Lewis. Philip was possessed of fine inventive genius and secured a number of patents on agri- cultural machinery; he died in middle age. Rhoda and Ellen died in early womanhood. Huldah married William Hand, of Cape May Court House, and to them were born three children: Ludlam, a merchant of Cape May Court House; Huldah, who married Joshua Bennett; and Elizabeth, who became the wife of Israel Woolson.
Daniel, the fifth child of Daniel and Hannah Cresse, was the father of James, a prominent farmer of Burleigh. The only survivor of the six chil- dren is the youngest, Lewis Cresse, Sr., the father of Lewis Mitchell Cresse. The father was born at Gravelly Run in 1824 and was educated in the private schools of the county. When a young man he spent three years in Cali- fornia, attracted by the discovery of gold. Upon his return he married Mary Ann Hoffman, a teacher in the village school of Gravelly Run. Mr. Cresse first engaged in the milling business at that place, but later purchased a farm of one hundred acres at Townsend Inlet (now Swainton), where he has since resided. His political support is given to the Republican party; but being a man of domestic tastes he has preferred the enjoyment of his fireside to the cares of public life. Four children have been born to him: Huldah, the wife of Coleman Leaming, Jr .; Mary Hoffman, the wife of W. Scott Hand; Lewis Mitchell, of this review; and George Hoffman, the principal of the public schools of Dennisville. The parents of these children are now attain- ing a ripe old age. They are people of the strictest integrity and command the honor and respect of a host of friends.
Lewis Mitchell Cresse was born at Townsend Inlet, September 12, 1867, acquired his early education in the public schools of his native village, and
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afterward graduated at the high school of Cape May Court House, in 1867, and later at the Quaker school at Woodstown. He then accepted a position as the principal of the public schools of Almonesson, Gloucester county, but resigned to complete a business course in the National College of Com- merce in Philadelphia, graduating at that institution in 1887 and becoming one of its teachers in bookkeeping and accounting. He abandoned the work of an educator to become identified with the financial interests of his native county, first as the cashier of the People's Bank, of Sea Isle City, where he remained nearly three years, when he accepted a position with the Union National Bank, of Atlantic City. The Cape May County Times, of Sea Isle City, paid him the following high tribute when he resigned his position at the People's Bank; "Mr. Cresse has been with us about three years, dur- ing which time he has not only gained the confidence of his employers, but also of the entire community. He has filled more positions of honor and trust while among us than any other man in the town, and his loss will be keenly felt by the community at large."
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